1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for the manufacture of a decorative thermosetting laminate by means of a continuous laminate press.
2. Description of Prior Art
Products coated with thermosetting laminates are frequent today. They are foremost used where the demand for abrasion resistance is high, but also where resistance towards different chemicals and moisture is required. As an example of such products floors, floor beadings, table tops, work tops and wall panels can be mentioned.
The thermosetting laminate most often consists of a carrying base with a decor sheet and one or more wear layers placed closest to the surface. The decor sheet can be provided with a desired decor or pattern. The most frequent patterns usually represent the image of different kinds of wood, or minerals such as marble or granite. The surface of the laminate can be provided with a structure during the laminating procedure which will make the decor more realistic. The most common way of achieving such a laminate is by first manufacturing the thermosetting laminate of a number of paper layers impregnated with melamine formaldehyde resin and then to glue this thermosetting laminate onto a core of for example fibre board or particle board. It is also known to feed a few melamine formaldehyde impregnated paper webs together with sheets of particle or fibre board through a continuous laminate press. The problem is, in the first case, that the thermosetting laminate will change format somewhat which will cause problems when the decor is patterned in a way that calls for accurate matching. The same problem occurs in the continuous process where it will be virtually impossible to have accurate matching longitudinally due to the fact that particle boards and fibre boards come in limited lengths. It is very difficult to accurately match a repetition frequency of a decor pattern of a web to boards without causing loss of material.